remington 700 sps in 243

[Redgum]

Hi, just got my first centrefire,a 243 remmy 700 sps and I would like to reload for it to get some nice tight groups but its been mentioned to throw the stock away and replace before I can expect to much. Does anyone else have the same problem with the sps stock. I picked the gun as its had some really good out of the box reviews and has a fast enough twist rate to stabilise a 100g load which the Tikka's seem to struggle with. Any views on 243 using 100grain loads would be welcome as I have thought of changing it for a shorter barrel for better balance with the wildcat predator 8 sat on the end of it, do you have a better choice.

[Mr_Logic]

I've seen plenty of Remington SPS rifles shoot just fine. reload a 100gr load and see what happens.

 

In terms of wanting to shoot 100gr with 243, Remington or Savage with a faster twist are your rifles, so you made a good choice. The stock on a Remington SPS IS ****, but it is functional enough for the rifle to shoot straight.

 

Given your desire to shoot 100gr, I am guessing this is a purely deer rifle, and thus you don't need the world's most accurate group - get it shooting MOA, which it should do anyway, and if you can find a deer in the land you can't kill with a one-MOA group and 100gr 243 bullets, I'll give you 50 quid.

[Redgum]

Thats good to hear, I did loads of trawling on the web before making the gun choice decision, A bolts, x bolts, Tikas, RWS and Winchesters but the one that seemed to give the most solid reviews was the 700. Its job will be as a deer gun, maybe the occasional fox if ones about. I quessing that if further down the line I go for a differant stock there will be a bit of choice as the 700 remington seems a popular gun for many.

[stevethevanman]

I shoot a tikka T3 hunter, and have found no problem with 100gr in it, and can shoot 0.75" groups at 100yds, I think though that tikka may supply its .243's in 2 different twist rates, I am not sure on that though.

 

As for SPS not being good, I dont think their barrely are floated, which can be fixed by your self, other than that a good gun, accuracy depends on so many things, if you get it try loads of different types of 100gr ammo. The perosn who shoots an SPS that I know finds dynamit nobel 100gr to be best in his guns and his SPS, so try that

 

Steve

[Dekers]

I have the SPS Stainless in .308, the stock is certainly not the best in the world but I struggle with many comments from people about throwing away stocks, changing the trigger etc etc.

 

My rifle is out of the box with an X Mark pro trigger, I had 3" chopped off the barrel and thats it.

 

It was banging V-Bulls and Bulls yesterday at Bisley with Mr L's Home brews at 200 yards! The .243 with 100g is a pussy cat compared to the .308 with 175g and 168g (I think thats what they were) pretty hot loads too, and should present much less issues with the stock.

 

As always it's down to ability and expectation. The Rem does what I expected and what I want, to a level that I accept. It can be made better with the addition of money and skill, but what sort of level do you really want/expect. Most guns can actually shoot better than their owners already.

 

[Redgum]

Great to hear that, I know that alot is down to your own ability but I'm new to the centrefire world having barely run the gun in let alone found a round the gun prefers. It does knock your confidence though when someone gives negative views on a gun, now I'm not complaining about negative views as we need those as much as the positive but if 2 people don't get on with a certain gun yet 20 people find them brilliant then facts speak for themselves.

My first rifle was a .22lr CZ varmint 16inch barrel, I was told the triggers were rubbish etc, with experience I learnt how to iron out the faults, the trigger creep and break pressure, I floated the touching barrel and now I have a gun that will shoot less than MOA at 100yds. The gun cost £270 and now shoots like a gun costing £600 and is a pleasure to own. If a 700sps stock in 308 can handle these weights of bullet then I'm confident I have something to work with on a 243 which will give me confidence that if the groupings rubbish then the probability is more likely to be ammo or me.

How much did it cost to have the barrel shortened and recrowned Deckers and who did it.

[Mr_Logic]

One thing, don't float the barrel on your SPS, without trying it first anyway - I have heard many reports saying it worsened accuracy on them

[Dekers]

Great to hear that, I know that alot is down to your own ability but I'm new to the centrefire world having barely run the gun in let alone found a round the gun prefers. It does knock your confidence though when someone gives negative views on a gun, now I'm not complaining about negative views as we need those as much as the positive but if 2 people don't get on with a certain gun yet 20 people find them brilliant then facts speak for themselves.

My first rifle was a .22lr CZ varmint 16inch barrel, I was told the triggers were rubbish etc, with experience I learnt how to iron out the faults, the trigger creep and break pressure, I floated the touching barrel and now I have a gun that will shoot less than MOA at 100yds. The gun cost £270 and now shoots like a gun costing £600 and is a pleasure to own. If a 700sps stock in 308 can handle these weights of bullet then I'm confident I have something to work with on a 243 which will give me confidence that if the groupings rubbish then the probability is more likely to be ammo or me.

How much did it cost to have the barrel shortened and recrowned Deckers and who did it.

 

 

Neil Mckillop did it, when I first got the gun a year or two back now. Neil is a top guy, as many on this site know, people travel for his work/expertise, fortunately he is only 7 miles from me. He does all my rifle work for me these days, I dropped off my .22WMR for him on Friday for some alterations...YES, Good Friday!

 

Anyway, the cut/thread/crown and proof on the Rem 700 was about £80-£90 I think, all inclusive, it may be a little more now!

 

Neil McKillop

Phone 0118 9333 100

mckillopeng@hotmail.com

[Vince Green]

The Rem 700 should be a good rifle out of the box but stock bedding can always be improved. You should not need a new stock though.

[gixer1]

some say the rem 700 is one of the most accurate rifles out of the box so you've definatly picked a good-un mate, i've been playing around with grouping recently (just for fun) and can say some days the groups are touching....other days i could group better with a shotgun.....the main variable.....is me

[flyingfisherman]

The R700 as stated is a great gun, and the pricing difference is generally down to the price of the stock and other bits on the action, barrel etc. I have a R700 PSS in .223 which is fab, i have changed the trigger, but thats a personal preference. I also have the R700 SPS Varmint in .308. I checked the grouping on the rifle and wasnt overly impressed. I couldnt be bothered with messing around rebedding and floating an SPS stock as theyre very low quality. I simply rang rimfire magic and they supplied me with a R700 Police stock, with the aluminium bedding block and also floated. I bolted it on (less than 30 mins) and i have a great rifle, i think i did a thread on PW, have a look if you have time. I dont dispute the accuracy of the action, trigger and barrel, but to be honest, dont waste your time farting on with an SPS stock, either accept the grouping (absolutely fine for most stalking) or buy an off the shelf replacement stock.

 

The SPS is good value. Hope you have fun with it!

 

FFM

[Redgum]

They are a great bunch at Rimfire magic, very helpful when sorting my CZ rimmie trigger creep out.

[Rem223]

I have seen plenty of people on forums rubbish the "tupperware" stocks on many of the new Remingtons, but at the same time I have also seen people shoot some outstanding groups with the original stock. They are not the best stock out there by a long way, but before getting rid of it I would see how well the rifle performs.

 

Bedding is actually very easy if you are careful and meticulous about using "release agent" I use Kiwi clear wax. There are lots of articles on how to do this. I have also seen people drill out the front of the SPS stocks and glue in carbon fibre arrow shafts to stiffen it up. I would initially get your load sorted. Then if you want to experiment try bedding with a good metal containing epoxy. An aftermarket stock may offer some improvement but before shelling out I would see just how good you are with the original stock.

[Redgum]

Thanks Rem223, my confidence is growing and I will stick with it now, from what I can gather the 700 barrel and action are used as the base of many competion standard guns. I enjoy working on my own guns as it makes them feel a bit more special, when I have a bit more time and the guns run in I will post up a few of my groupings with various ammo. I am going to buy some Partizan ammo as its cheap, almost the price of new cases and I have heard they are good for up to 10x reloading. So far I have heard more positive than negative on the sps. As I have said on this forum before, my first rifle was a .22lr CZ, for two months I was convinced the gun was a bad one, now, with a little bit of tweakin and the right ammo it is deadly accurate when I'm good enough, same happened with the .17hmr.

[flyingfisherman]

I got a load of PRVI partizan with my .308 when i bought it and i cant fault it! For the price and the accuracy, i would say its great value, and its going to be reloaded once ive got through the 240 rounds!

[Vince Green]

I got a load of PRVI partizan with my .308 when i bought it and i cant fault it! For the price and the accuracy, i would say its great value, and its going to be reloaded once ive got through the 240 rounds!

 

When you look into it you will probably find its not worth reloading, you might as well go and buy some more for the price it is but keep your old cases just to be on the safe side. I gave up reloading when I discovered privi. My reloads were more expensive.

[flyingfisherman]

funnily enough another guy said that to me that same thing, i think i reload for more reasons than cost, so am happy to do it, although its a very valid point!

[Klunk]

There's a pretty nifty (if a bit long winded) series of articles on youtube covering SPS Varmint bedding that you might want to look at by 'Wildernesseducation'.

Have a search on "remington 700 sps varmint bedding the rifle" and ye shall probably find. Bedding seemed to make quite an appreciable difference.

 

I also have an SPS Varmint, btw. Didn't bother bedding, just chucked the stock and replaced it with an AICS. It'll do cloverleaf groups at 100yds all day long.

[Redgum]

I will have a look to see if I can find the site, it would be pretty interesting to find out whats involved though I did read somewhere that nothing would adhere to the SPS stock.l By the way, if this stock has such a bad reputation what does 'Special purpose' mean according to Remington.

[flyingfisherman]

I will have a look to see if I can find the site, it would be pretty interesting to find out whats involved though I did read somewhere that nothing would adhere to the SPS stock.l By the way, if this stock has such a bad reputation what does 'Special purpose' mean according to Remington.

 

From what i gathered, the only difference between the SPS(V) and the police is the stock, the Police/PSS has a HS Precision stock, they both have 26'' heavy barrels and a standard remmy action. The guys at RF Magic were great as they customise a lot of R700s, removing the HS Precision stocks and other remington stocks im sure and in a way are by-product. I got a basically new HS Precision stock from them for my SPS and it was relatively peanuts compared to buying a new one.

 

Ive seen the guy on youtube bedding the SPS, was good to watch but i took one look and didnt fancy doing it (im prone to bodging!). I can vouch that the groups improved dramatically from MOA-1.5 MOA down to 0.5-0.75 MOA. I guess that it would have been more rewarding to do the work myself, but each to his own.. i bagged a roe doe and several charlies in the first week i got the rifle, so i was glad it wasnt out of action in bits!

[mikee]

if you dont think your remmy 700sps stock is any good have a go at this

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=JdUhYz...amp;feature=fvw

 

mikee

[flyingfisherman]

if you dont think your remmy 700sps stock is any good have a go at this

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=JdUhYz...amp;feature=fvw

 

mikee

 

Yep, proves its **** out of the box! When i say that, i mean in comparison with other full bore rifles for the same money.. The youtube guy who made the vid quite rightly says that its a good fix for people who dont want to spend more money on a new stock.

[Redgum]

Excuse my lack of knowledge but exactly why is this bedding process so important. If you have good scope mounts and scope and that cannot move in relation to the barrel and action surely were you aim it is where it will shoot even if the action moves very slightly in the stock with recoil. Is it because the movement of the action and barrel during the firing process alters slightly each time if the barrel and action isnt secured exactly. Is it a case of the stock holding the action and barrel snugly or the amount of flexibility in the stock.

[flyingfisherman]

the problem is that when you hold the rifle, your hold it by the stock, you dont want to be touching the barrel at any rate. So if you have hold of the rifle and there is give or slack between the stock and action, when you pull the trigger, the action and barrel will move. Im sure there are some very experienced guys on here who will give a more definitive answer, but if the barrel is not to be floating (like the SPS comes new) then the barrel and action need to be bedded so that nothing moves. As you can see in the Youtube vids, inside the SPS stock is just injection moulded plastic with no solid areas to bolt the action to.

 

Ive seen problems arise when people have decided to float a rifle which isnt floated, showing wild groups. I think its to do with resonance, but again, will leave it for the experts to answer.. Although the SPS doesnt suffer from being floated!

[Redgum]

if you dont think your remmy 700sps stock is any good have a go at this

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=JdUhYz...amp;feature=fvw

 

mikee

Crikey you need a bit of spare time to follow this chaps footage on youtube but its pretty interesting, wouldnt mind doing this if it was needed, imagine sticking the action to the stock, would be interesting trying to get it unstuck.